1. Field of the Invention
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to image data compression, and more particularly, to a pixel data compression and/or decompression method, medium, and system reducing an amount of data stored in a memory, such as a display driver.
2. Description of the Related Art
Display devices are typically arranged to display many pixels, with the pixel potentially being the minimum unit of a corresponding digital image forwarded to the display. Such display devices may include monitors or TVs and directly correspond the forwarded digital image pixel data to particular pixels on the screen. For example, when a monitor has a resolution of 640*480, the monitor may display the display image on the screen by illuminating 640 pixels in the horizontal direction and 480 pixels in the vertical direction.
Generally, data for each pixel includes R, G, and B component data. For example, pixel data of R, G, and B data for a pixel may be represented by a total of 18 bits, each of the R, G, and B data having 6 bits.
On the other hand, in such displays a display driver is used to drive the selective illumination of the particular display pixels, e.g., based a signal generated by a computer. The display driver may include a memory for the respective storing of pixel data that will be displayed on the display. Here, generally, the size of the memory is also limited, so the amount of pixel data that can be stored is similarly limited.
Accordingly, it has been found that if the size of pixel data stored in a display driver is truncated, the size of a memory included in the display driver may be reduced, resulting in reduced manufacturing costs of the display.
However, when such pixel data is truncated, or compressed, it is difficult to avoid deterioration of the resultant-displayed image caused by the data loss. This loss of data by truncation or compression in effect results in distortion or noise showing up in the displayed image.
Accordingly, an improved pixel data compression method, medium, and system capable of efficiently reducing the size of pixel data and minimizing data loss to avoid displayed image deterioration has been found desirable by the inventors.